We've got five, count 'em FIVE, Metal Gear Online Beta keys we're itching to give away. But, we don't want to give them away, we want you to work for them. Quick! Contest time!! The first five people who snap a picture of themselves in a box Metal Gear style and send it our way will get one of these keys, no voting, no nothing. Remember, the Beta runs until May 11th, so time is of the essence. The sooner you hide in a box, the sooner you could be Manapulting. (Online and outside of said box, hopefully.)

Haven't forgotten! Here you are, the best reader dress-up-as-a-plane costume. There is a gallery below. Click through it and vote for ONE PLANE that you like by writing "I vote for this" directly under that photo. Vote only once. Failure to do so will cause your vote to be void and end in us showing you the door. To see how the voting worked last time, click on this post. Voting ends midnight, MOUNTAIN TIME.

We have a winner! That's right, Coin Plane has been selected by Kotakuland as the best reader plane. So! Maker of Coin Plane, send us an email at kotakucontestATgmailDOTcom so we can get that Ace Combat 6 copy out to you. CONGRATS.

Oh, and I haven't forgotten about the cosplay contest. That will go up shortly.

Damn, you reader people are talented. Our make-an-airplane contest has drawn to a close! Here are the top twenty reader crafted planes, all competing for a copy of Ace Combat 6. We got tons of submissions. Much love to everyone who took the time to enter. Here's how the voting works. There is a gallery below. Click through it and vote for ONE PLANE that you like by writing "I vote for this" directly under that photo. Vote only once. Failure to do so will cause your vote to be void and end in us showing you the door. To see how the voting worked last time, click on this post. Voting ends midnight, MOUNTAIN TIME. One more thing! We will be posting the cosplay entries in a separate voting post a little later. Sit tight!

Last day! Panic time! Reader painey sends long this:

My model plane is created from a 50pence piece, which is hammered flat, bent into shape and filed down. My grandfather used to make these all the time and thats how I learnt.

Amazing! Hit the jump for a shot of the plane's underbelly. For those thinking of entering, lemme bring ya up to speed: Dress up as an airplane OR make a three dimensional airplane out of anything tangible, but paper. So you can't make CGI planes! And you can't draw them either! But, you can make them out of anything else as long as it's not paper. Rocks, clay, toothpicks, whatever! And remember, that means make and not build a plastic plane model you bought in the store. Send entries to kotakucontestATgmailDOTcom by this Friday at midnight PST and, like all contests, don't forget to add a "Kotaku" sign. Remember, we're giving away two copies of Ace Comabt 6 and INTERNET FAME. One copy for the best plane cosplay, the other for the best crafted plane. In short, two separate contests.

We're speechless, so let reader filip fill us in:

Here is my plane.
This is the carrot plane,it is made of carrot.
Yumm!

We're still speechless, so allow us to copy and paste: To bring everyone up to speed: Dress up as an airplane OR make a three dimensional airplane out of anything tangible, but paper. So you can't make CGI planes! And you can't draw them either! But, you can make them out of anything else as long as it's not paper. Rocks, clay, toothpicks, whatever! And remember, that means make and not build a plastic plane model you bought in the store. Send entries to kotakucontestATgmailDOTcom by this Friday at midnight PST and, like all contests, don't forget to add a "Kotaku" sign. Remember, we're giving away two copies of Ace Comabt 6 and INTERNET FAME. One copy for the best plane cosplay, the other for the best crafted plane. In short, two separate contests. Those keen on seeing a plane cosplay, hit the jump for Sean's entry. There's a bucket involved!

The Ace Combat 6 contest continues! Reader Jason sends along his entry. Here, look at it. He writes:

Here's my plane! It's made out of popsicle sticks! I included a nickel for scale! Cuz it's tiny! Exclamation Point!

!!! To bring everyone up to speed: Dress up as an airplane OR make a three dimensional airplane out of anything tangible, but paper. So you can't make CGI planes! And you can't draw them either! But, you can make them out of anything else as long as it's not paper. Rocks, clay, toothpicks, whatever! And remember, that means make and not build a plastic plane model you bought in the store. Send entries to kotakucontestATgmailDOTcom by this Friday at midnight PST and, like all contests, don't forget to add a "Kotaku" sign. Remember, we're giving away two copies of Ace Comabt 6 and INTERNET FAME. One copy for the best plane cosplay, the other for the best crafted plane. In short, two separate contests.

And our contest continues! Today, since we're short on plane costumes, we bring you this B-2 "Spirit" bomber from reader Stephen, who writes:

So I know I don't score many points in the effort category here, but hopefully I make it up in the creativity and fan devotion categories :)

The idea is that it's a top down view of a B-2 "Spirit" bomber. Since it's a little esoteric I've attached a picture of a real B-2 for reference that maybe you can include with it.

Hit the jump for comparison fun fun.

Contest runs until this Friday. For those not hip to what's going on, let me bring you up to speed: Dress up as an airplane or make a three dimensional airplane out of anything tangible, but paper. So you can't make CGI planes! And you can't draw them either! But, you can make them out of anything else as long as it's not paper. Rocks, clay, toothpicks, whatever! And remember, that means make and not build a plastic plane model you bought in the store. Send entries to kotakucontestATgmailDOTcom by this Friday at midnight PST and, like all contests, don't forget to add a "Kotaku" sign. Remember, we're giving away two copies of Ace Comabt 6 and INTERNET FAME. One copy for the best plane cosplay, the other for the best crafted plane.

[Pic]

We're not sure if this is adorable or cruel! Kotaku commenter Purple-Penguin writes:

My son is dressed as a plane, a radio controlled plane, or you can look at it as I made a plane out of my son.

Here's what's going on: Dress up as an airplane or make a three dimensional airplane out of anything tangible, but paper. So you can't make CGI planes! And you can't draw them either! But, you can make them out of anything else as long as it's not paper. Rocks, clay, toothpicks, whatever! And remember, that means make and not build a plastic plane model you bought in the store. Send entries to kotakucontestATgmailDOTcom and, like all contests, don't forget to add a "Kotaku" sign. Remember, we're giving away two copies of Ace Comabt 6 and INTERNET FAME. One copy for the best plane cosplay, the other for the best crafted plane.

Hit the jump for reader Adam's plane, which he based off the Wright Flyer and made entirely out of Q-tips!

And the entries are pouring in! Above, reader Daniel cosplays as an airplane. Here's what's going on: Dress up as an airplane or make a three dimensional airplane out of anything tangible, but paper. So you can't make CGI planes! And you can't draw them either! But, you can make them out of anything else as long as it's not paper. Rocks, clay, toothpicks, whatever! And remember, that means make and not build a plastic plane model you bought in the store. Send entries to kotakucontestATgmailDOTcom and, like all contests, don't forget to add a "Kotaku" sign. Remember, we're giving away two copies of the game and INTERNET FAME. Haven't figured out if we'll give one out to the best cosplay and one to the best 3D plane, though...

Hit the jump for Kevin's plane, which he made out of 300 pipette tips.

We've got a winner! That person wins!! And gets all my stuff!!! (Plus a neato Fallout 3 signed shirt.) That's right, as voted by Kotakuland, the winner of the Spring Cleaning Contest is Jonathan C., the individual who made this Portal egg. So Jonathan C., the individual who made this, shoot us an email at kotakucontestATgamilDOTcom to claim your prize. And congrats!

Alrighty! Since none of you bastards (I repeat none) are willing to cosplay as airplanes, we're going to change up this contest. And giveaway another copy of Ace Combat 6 in the process. That's right, we're giving away two copies of Ace Combat 6 to the winner and the runner-up. New contest: Make a three dimensional airplane out of anything tangible, but paper. So you can't make CGI planes! And you can't draw them either! But, you can make them out of anything else as long as it's not paper. Rocks, clay, toothpicks, whatever! And remember, that means make and not build a plastic plane model you bought in the store. Send entries to kotakucontestATgmailDOTcom. Remember, we're giving away two copies of the game and INTERNET FAME.

New contest! This one is a cosplay contest. But not any just cosplay contest. A radical cosplay contest. Here's the deal: Dress up like an airplane. Any type of airplane is fine! Pose with a Kotaku sign. Send it to kotakucontestATgmailDOTcom. THAT'S IT. Easy, huh? Bandai Namco has agreed to give away a copy of Ace Combat 6 to the winner. We'll be giving away INTERNET FAME. Contest ends wraps up April 11th at midnight PST. INTERNET FAME lasts forever.

Voting time! Man, there were a fuckton of great eggs. So many that we don't have the usually lucky seven finalists. We've got 25. All the entries seem self explanatory, so what we've done is create a gallery. Click through to see all the finalists. Here's where it gets different: To vote, write "I vote for this" under the egg picture you like. That's the only thing you should write if you want your vote to count. Do not, we repeat, do not vote in the regular comments section — they won't count! And remember, vote for only one egg. That's right, ONLY ONE EGG. Voting for two or more means Ban Hammer fun. For us, not you.

To recap: Click through the gallery below. If you find an egg you like, vote for it by writing only "I vote for this" below that egg's pic. Voting wraps up in exactly 24 hours.

Just as one contest wraps up (still need to post the finalists — will do shortly!), we've got another. This one is a cosplay contest. But not any just cosplay contest. A radical cosplay contest. Here's the deal: Dress up like an airplane. Any type of airplane is fine! Pose with a Kotaku sign. Send it to kotakucontestATgmailDOTcom. THAT'S IT. Easy, huh? Bandai Namco has agreed to give away a copy of Ace Combat 6 to the winner. We'll be giving away INTERNET FAME. Contest ends wraps up April 11th at midnight PST. INTERNET FAME lasts forever.

Eggs! Reader TheBlur send this TF2 entry he made with 3 buddies. Here's what's going on: Decorate an egg (yes, an actual egg), take a pic of it with a Kotaku sign and send it to kotakucontestATgmailDOTcom. Commentland will vote for its favorite finalist. Clocks ticking away, folks!

Well, now that we're giving away a signed Fallout 3 shirt, it would be fitting to have, well, a Fallout 3 egg. MaxS's entry makes that possible! Here's what's going on: Decorate an egg (yes, an actual egg), take a pic of it with a Kotaku sign and send it to kotakucontestATgmailDOTcom. Commentland will vote for its favorite finalist. We'll kick this baby off right now, wrap it up on April 5th. Here's the loot, plus the bonus signed Fallout 3 shirt. Good luck!

Welcome to Eggture! This BioShock inspired creation comes from reader Ricky, who writes:

the bioshock one took like 4 days... getting that copper colour right, and making the background was hellish xD

Here's what's going on: Decorate an egg (yes, an actual egg), take a pic of it with a Kotaku sign and send it to kotakucontestATgmailDOTcom. Commentland will vote for its favorite finalist. We'll kick this baby off right now, wrap it up on April 5th. Here's the loot, plus the bonus signed Fallout 3 shirt. Good luck!

Our egg contest continues! Reader DaRebel sends in this SSBB-style entry with Kirby and Meta Knight about to bust shells. Dazzling coloring skills, too! Here's what's going on: Decorate an egg (yes, an actual egg), take a pic of it with a Kotaku sign and send it to kotakucontestATgmailDOTcom. Commentland will vote for its favorite finalist. We'll kick this baby off right now, wrap it up on April 4th April 5th. Here's the loot, plus the bonus signed Fallout 3 shirt.

And the entries keep on a-comin'! Take at look at what reader Melissa sends our way: Yoshi procreating! Here's what's going on: Decorate an egg (yes, an actual egg), take a pic of it with a Kotaku sign and send it to kotakucontestATgmailDOTcom. Commentland will vote for its favorite finalist. We'll kick this baby off right now, wrap it up on April 4th. Here's the loot, plus the bonus signed Fallout 3 shirt.

The resemblance is uncanny. That's Harjit M.'s entry, which is based on this photograph and this post. You know, that could double as a J Allard egg as well. Still, this so makes us want to do a bird shirt contest. Here's what's going on: Decorate an egg (yes, an actual egg), take a pic of it with a Kotaku sign and send it to kotakucontestATgmailDOTcom. Commentland will vote for its favorite finalist. We'll kick this baby off right now, wrap it up on April 4th. Here's the loot, plus the bonus signed Fallout 3 shirt.

My loot? Pretty good. Definitely a solid contest's worth of rare and just flat out cool stuff. Now, we have something to sweeten the deal. Bethesda will also be giving the winner of our Paint-An-Egg-Contest a Vault Boy Fallout 3 shirt. There's more! The back of this shirt is signed by Fallout 3 team. So big kudos for Bethesda for pitching this in and for the devs for writing their names!

Look at Jake's egg contest entry!! We're doing an egg contest? Yes we are! Here's how it's going down: Decorate an egg (yes, an actual egg), take a pic of it with a Kotaku sign and send it to kotakucontestATgmailDOTcom. Commentland will vote for its favorite finalist. We'll kick this baby off right now, wrap it up on April 4th. Here's the loot. Hop to it!

And our color-an-egg-win-some-stuff contest is underway! Check out this entry from reader Jacob. (Notice how it says "Kotaku" in the picture.) Very nice. Decorate an egg (yes, an actual egg), take a pic of it with a Kotaku sign and send it to kotakucontestATgmailDOTcom. Commentland will vote for its favorite finalist. We'll kick this baby off right now, wrap it up on April 4th. Here's the loot. Hop to it!

So! I've figured out what kinda contest we're going to run. Well, I didn't, but reader Benjamin did. He said an EGG DECORATING CONTEST would be a good idea. We agree. So who cares if Easter is over, that's it! Decorate an egg (yes, an actual egg), take a pic of it with a Kotaku sign and send it to kotakucontestATgmailDOTcom. Commentland will vote for its favorite finalist. We'll kick this baby off right now, wrap it up on April 4th. Here's the loot. Good luck!

The winners of the Warhawk custom paint job contest have been announced via the official PlayStation blog, and boy, are they a fabulous bunch. Warhawk producer Dylan Jobe revealed the 18 new user created color schemes that will be shipping with the 1.3 software update, a fantastically rainbow colored assortment of non-drab airships. The winning insignias, less showy, were also revealed. Jobe even dropped off a new trailer for the next Warhawk update, all of which can be seen at the link below. Congrats, winners!

Warhawk Contest Winners! Plus v1.3 trailer! [PlayStation.blog]

If you're going to be in New York City or San Jose California and have a little free time on the 28th of March, you might want to stop by GameStop for a special Call of Duty 4 Variety Map Pack Challenge event. Be one of the first players to get your hands on Broadcast, Creek, Chinatown and Killhouse, the four new multiplayer maps coming out with the April 3rd DLC. Participate in Q&A sessions with developers, trivia contests, eye tests, and finally battle it out on the maps themselves for a chance at various prizes, including a $1,000 gift card. Attendees can register at the GameStop website, with the first few attendees receiving an Xbox Live token that lets you snag the pack for free. A first look at the maps, fabulous prizes, and the chance to hang out at a GameStop after closing hours. What more could a Call of Duty 4 player ask for? Feel free to contact the GameStop directly for a list of prizes, but be warned - the New York store's manager Randy can't find his packet. Poor Randy.

GameStop's Call of Duty 4 Event Page [GameStop via The Mercury News]

Spring cleaning! That's right, I'm cleaning out my office. That means one thing: Finding stuff to give away to one of you. Above, there's a couple Gearbox t-shirts, a PixelJunk one, a Bionic Commando one that producer Ben Judd actually refused to autograph. What else? There's pack of The King of Fighters: Maximum Impact II playing cards and a SNK 300 piece jigsaw puzzle. All of these can be yours! I plan on starting a contest next week. Not sure what kind I'm going to do yet. But yeah, this is the prize.

Oh, and one of those shirts, I'm pretty sure I've worn. Not sure which one. So whoever wins this loot, think of it as Russian roulette!

What. A. Contest. We are so delighted to see all the wonderful entries. It warms our cold, bitter hearts! And now, the winner of our make-a-bug-win-Insecticide contest is...

Finalist #1, Mr. Dandy. Please Mr. Dandy, shoot us an email at tipsATkotakuDOTcom to claim your prize. Congrats!

Okay! Whew. We've got our finalists. Twelve of them. Usually, we don't like to do more more than seven — ten at the most. But these are too good — damn good, even. So, now it's time to vote. After the jump, write down one (yes, ONE) of the finalists you like best. Don't write down two or three or whatever, just one. Failure to do so will result in your vote counting for zip. Voting ends tonight at midnight EST. Winner gets a copy of Insecticide. Everyone else gets a warm fuzzy feeling inside. Yay!

Finalist #1

Mr. Dandy writes:

I know this isn't technically an insect, although it is an arthropod, and I believe also an isopod. I beg leniency because, after all, it is the original video game bug.

It's 24" long, and has 70 points of articulation, sculpted in poly clay, then cast in colored resin, with painted details. I had always wanted an excuse to sculpt Centipede (specifically, the one from the arcade machine's original sideart). So it was kind of a labor of love, with Kotaku's contest providing the last excuse I needed to make it happen. Thanks!

Finalist #2

KingDavid73 writes:

The first time I saw this contest, this idea popped into my head. I made a basic outline of the project, but never really finished it, so all I have are these lame pictures... but , oh well. SEGA bug ftw?

Finalist #3

Sara writes:

I made this cockroach out of felt, spray paint, and a twist tie.

Finalist #4

Lonny writes:

This is my submission for the insect contest. I know it isn`t a real world insect, but it is my take on the hercules beetle combined with a human.

I made it out of oil-based clay.

Finalist #5

David S. writes:

Attached is a Lego model of a Giraffe Beetle that my wife and I put together for the contest.

I didn't know anything about Giraffe Beetles until I googled "weird insect" and said "Well, we obviously have to try and make THAT out of Lego!". It's one freaky looking bug.

Finalist #6

Adriana writes:

It's a pendant I'm making for my college jewelry class inspired by the Kotaku contest. It's made of 14k gold pierce work on the front and pure silver on the back with a pearl drop. Hopefully it's not too serious for the contest. (T.T)

Finalist #7

Ross writes:

For my Insecticide contest entry I made a bee/hornet bug. I named him Marty Mcfly. He is made from Apoxy Sculpt, clear plastic pieces, hot glue, and acyrlic paint. I also threw in a picture of Marty with another project of mine Dogen. From Psychonauts. Thanks for the fun contest!

Finalist #8

EvilEmpire28 writes:

It was made out of a pink erasure. I carved it using a pocket knife razor, used sand paper to smooth it down, then used some Sharpie markers and pens for the details. I finished it with plastic coated paper clips for legs and antenna for the head.

Finalist #9

Katie writes:

This is my super scary scorpion made entirely out of those twisty ties you get in trash bags. It kinda looks like A Mummy Scorpion.....

Finalist #10

Oscar writes:

Here it is, hope you like it. I made it out of paper clips and coke cans, with the metal part of a twist-tie for the antenna.
By the way, I love the site, and visit it everyday. Keep up the good work!

Finalist #11

Cchrist writes:

Here's my entry for the contest. I made it out of organs, fur, a kitten strap and some butterfly wings!
It even moves on it's own and doesn't even use electricity OR batteries.
The only thing i haven't figured out yet is making it fly...

Finalist #12

Cory writes:

It's the rare Smiling Amazon Box Spider.

Don't forget! You only have a few more hours to get in your entries for the Insecticide contest. We're giving away a copy of Insecticide (DS or PC, the winner decides). Here's the contest, it's a fun one: Make an insect. Like a 3D, real world one. You can use anything to make it EXCEPT CG. So yeah, if you want to make a bug outta newspapers, sticks, clay, whatever, DO IT. Send entries to kotakucontestATgmailDOTcom with the subject line "Insect." The contest ends March 7th at midnight PST. SOON.

Adriana writes:

It's a pendant I'm making for my college jewelry class inspired by the Kotaku contest. It's made of 14k gold pierce work on the front and pure silver on the back with a pearl drop. Hopefully it's not too serious for the contest. (T.T)

Not at all! In case you didn't know: We're giving away a copy of Insecticide (DS or PC, the winner decides). Here's the contest, it's a fun one: Make an insect. Like a 3D, real world one.

That's it.

You can use anything to make it EXCEPT CG. So yeah, if you want to make a bug outta newspapers, sticks, clay, whatever, DO IT. Send entries to kotakucontestATgmailDOTcom with the subject line "Insect." The contest ends March 7th at midnight PST. That's today!

Reader Oscar writes:

I made it out of paper clips and coke cans, with the metal part of a twist-tie for the antenna.

WOW. Just... WOW. In case you didn't know: We're giving away a copy of Insecticide (DS or PC, the winner decides). Here's the contest, it's a fun one: Make an insect. Like a 3D, real world one.

That's it.

You can use anything to make it EXCEPT CG. So yeah, if you want to make a bug outta newspapers, sticks, clay, whatever, DO IT. Send entries to kotakucontestATgmailDOTcom with the subject line "Insect." The contest ends March 7th. The winner's fame is ENDLESS.

We just wanted to send out a notice that today is the last day to submit your PSP2 concept designs for the first ever, last ever, official Unofficial Kotaku PSP2 Design Challenge. We've actually received some decent designs—but believe it or not—we've received some real crap, too. Just so you know, the whole "5-year-old sketches a PSP2" bit has been done (pictured here). So, those looking to get in an entry before the deadline should realize that the joke has been made, we actually laughed and now we can all carry on with our lives.

Thanks Timothy!

Adowable! According to commenter Cchrist:

Here's my entry for the contest. I made it out of organs, fur, a kitten strap and some butterfly wings!
It even moves on it's own and doesn't even use electricity OR batteries.
The only thing i haven't figured out yet is making it fly...

Yes, our cold bitter heart just melted. In case you didn't know: We're giving away a copy of Insecticide (DS or PC, the winner decides). Here's the contest, it's a fun one: Make an insect. Like a 3D, real world one.

That's it.

You can use anything to make it EXCEPT CG. So yeah, if you want to make a bug outta newspapers, sticks, clay, whatever, DO IT. Send entries to kotakucontestATgmailDOTcom with the subject line "Insect." The contest ends March 7th. The winner's fame is ENDLESS.

Wow! Spider web and everything! And just look at its legs. Reader Cory writes:

It's the rare Smiling Amazon Box Spider.

Awesome! In case you didn't know: We're giving away a copy of Insecticide (DS or PC, the winner decides). Here's the contest, it's a fun one: Make an insect. Like a 3D, real world one.

That's it.

You can use anything to make it EXCEPT CG. So yeah, if you want to make a bug outta newspapers, sticks, clay, whatever, DO IT. Send entries to kotakucontestATgmailDOTcom with the subject line "Insect." The contest ends March 7th. The winner's fame is ENDLESS.

Microsoft is going all out to promote Grand Theft Auto IV for the Xbox 360, kicking off a sweepstakes today to hand out consoles, games and even trips to a launch party in New York.

To enter all you have to do is hit the site, confirm your gamertag and click enter. Here's the list of prizes, winners will be announced around April 23, good luck:

* Four Grand Prizes: Four winners will score a four-day/three-night trip for two to New York City to attend the Xbox LIVE Gold Grand Theft Auto IV Launch Party.
* One Hundred First Prizes: Custom Xbox 360 Elite console
* Two Thousand Second Prizes: A Rockstar baseball bat
* Five Thousand Third Prizes: 500 Microsoft Points
* Three Thousand Fourth Prizes: 1000 Microsoft Points
* Two Thousand Fifth Prizes: 1600 Microsoft Points
* Five Thousand Sixth Prizes: One-month Xbox LIVE Gold subscription
* Three Thousand Seventh Prizes: Three-month Xbox LIVE Gold subscription
* Two Thousand Eighth Prizes: One-year Xbox LIVE Gold subscription

GTA Sweepstakes

And the amazing bug entries keep rolling in! Here's a creepy crawly from reader WhyCause, who writes:

I made this guy out of a packing peanut and staples.
With a little ink thrown on for color.

So yeah, we're giving away a copy of Insecticide (DS or PC, the winner decides). Here's the contest, it's a fun one: Make an insect. Like a 3D, real world one.

That's it.

You can use anything to make it EXCEPT CG. So yeah, if you want to make a bug outta newspapers, sticks, clay, whatever, DO IT. Send entries to kotakucontestATgmailDOTcom with the subject line "Insect." The contest ends March 7th. The winner's fame is ENDLESS.